The Wake Up Call to the Constitution and the Ideals it Espouses

1st Chapter of Patriot Ammo

Patriot Ammo: The Words Behind the Flag

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IntroductionReconnaissance of the Battlefield

The Constitution of the United States is THE reason we have been the most free and prosperous nation this world has ever witnessed. The Constitution is America. What we have done in 200 years has eclipsed what any other nation in the history of man has ever done. The grand experiment of men being able to rule themselves has been a roaring success. There have been speedbumps along the way, but our overall movement toward liberty has taken our country to heights never before experienced. In a time of Kings and monarchs, oligarchies and tyrants, we fought off the biggest military in the world and won. Then we did a truly revolutionary thing. The people set up a government of the people, by the people and for the people. A system that allowed for the peaceful transition of power from one governing body to the next. We codified a set of rules and laws we had developed over a period of centuries and set up a country by those rules. We created a nation where we believed that the protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was enough of a reason to establish a government. It was a radical idea at the time but with the men assembled for the task it was accomplished. America is a miracle.

"To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed." That was one of our core principles when the 13 colonies went to war with Great Britain. This is why we tolerate government. We realized centuries ago that governments are mandatory for a society. As quickly we realized that governments are the biggest abusers of human rights that this earth has ever witnessed. So when we created our federal government, the founders made sure to only give them specific powers to enhance the function and interplay between the states which created it. They set up an intricate set of checks and balances that helped to insure that no person or small group of people could hijack our government and use government to infringe on the people's rights. Our government exists to secure our rights.

Our founders knew that government is a force. It must be circumscribed. Much like a fire it is useful but when it gets out of control people get hurt. It is a very peculiar and telling idea that our Founders, who had NO knowledge of Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Mao, or any other tyrant in the 20th century already had the knowledge that government was too often a force of oppression, not justice. History had proven to them already that government was necessary but it was also a major reason for human suffering throughout the ages. They have been vindicated seeing our recent history. The names and places are different but the tyranny by a minority is still the same. Tens of millions killed by their own governments when the people lost control and allowed militant minorities to take over. When people get to rule over others it never ends nicely for those being ruled. Welcome to humanity. Welcome to human nature.

The Founders realized that centralized power is never good for those who have to live under it. To insure our future chances at a free and prosperous nation the states created our Constitution. Human nature is the driving force behind the structure of our government. The Constitution reflects this fact. The main ideal espoused in the Constitution is one of sovereign states coming together to form a federal body to handle specific enumerated duties which the states determine is best managed by a central authority. This power is delegated. These duties are rigidly defined. The interplay between entities in this government is used to limit the power of each player. Checks and balances and all of that. The remaining power resides in the states and the people, with that being determined by the citizens of each individual state. The closer government is to home the better chance we have at a favorable outcome. The closer to home a law is passed means that the will of those collected people is being served, not to burden others outside of that area who may think differently. This bottom up structure is due to human nature.

In our nation the people are sovereign. Power originates from the people. We delegate parts of that power to our local and our state governments. We elect representatives to wield that power. These "states" are the indivisible groupings of people who use their influence to live a certain lifestyle. These states are supposed to be the laboratories of freedom who try different methods to get closer to the ever elusive target of liberty. Somehow today that simple idea has been lost. It is an idea we must regain for our country to survive as a free nation. What we witness today is a federal government telling us how to live our lives in a way that is supposedly good for the collective. The micromanaging we see in today's society is not supported by the Constitution nor is it an earmark of a free society. To think that experts can successfully predict the actions of millions and have the temerity to impose their will on us and tell us how to live is mind boggling. Neither of these ideas are in line with our founding or what made us a great nation.

Another one of our key founding principles was our rights come from our creator, not men nor government. Our rights are inherent. Inalienable. We recognize that when you are born that you have rights that cannot be taken away. Life. Liberty. Private property ownership. Freedom to worship and freedom of conscience. Some of these rights can be suspended by the rest of society if one participates in activities that infringe on the rights of others. Accordingly, we endorse the idea that government is created to protect these rights from any attack no matter the source.

State sovereignty has been the key to our success as a constitutional republic. Unfortunately, the idea of a bloated federal government making the laws for the whole country seems to be where we are at today. Any laws that need to be passed should be done at the most local level possible. City and county should take care of most of the needs of its residents with the state providing the structure for the counties and cities to succeed. The key responsibility of the state is to protect the rights of its inhabitants from all transgressors, whether they be foreign or domestic. The federal government handles the tasks that would be cumbersome for the states to handle individually, which consist of mostly external items such as treaties, national defense and a body that represents us internationally. Other duties that make sense to be done at the national level include deciding on a national currency, weights and measures, trademarks and patents, bankruptcy laws, establishing a justice system, etc.... i.e.- those things which allow the people be able to interact fairly with each other.

As we move away from the ideals of our Founding, that being the consent of the governed, inalienable rights and a constitutionally limited government we see the results. Prosperity is replaced with poverty. Freedom replaced with dependence. A federal government that has long ago exceeded its constitutionally bound box. States that have capitulated to the federal government on their proper roles in our constitutional republic. The people who have lost control of the process and do not collectively have the knowledge of history to teach them the proper remedies. This is nothing new in history. Governments becoming bigger and more obtrusive is not an original idea. I hope enough of us realize history to correct the mistakes we are making before we doom our nation. I am an optimist on this point. I agree with George Washington when he said:

"A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?"

Education is the cornerstone of liberty. Our founders and founding are under attack like no other time in our history. Many people are waking up to this fact. A whole generation and more has been raised being taught of the flaws of our country without realizing the greatness it has achieved. That grandeur has been reduced to slavery and exploitation. Instruction on the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution is not emphasized and when taught is done so in an incomplete or insincere manner. This is the power of government run public education and a planned attack on our republic. The knowledge contained in this book used to be commonplace among the population. It is time that it once again becomes so.

When I was in high school, I had the fortune of taking "AVC" from a teacher named Mr. Burkett. AVC stands for "Americanism vs. Communism" and dealt with the differences between the two systems. Mr. Burkett was a joker but took education seriously. Myself and a friend Scott would often stay after class to debate a topic we had talked about in class or had previously discussed. It was truly fortuitous that I had lunch after his class so I could spend the time talking with Mr. Burkett. This was where and when I got a true appreciation for the accomplishments and uniqueness of our situation as a nation. The birth of our nation was a miracle. So many things had to come together against some tremendous odds yet it all worked out. And what we created was an equally divine blessing. Unfortunately, we do not see enough of this type of teaching going on today and instead of cherishing and fighting for what is right many now ridicule and tear down what we have accomplished.

This book is my personal attempt to educate the public. Through my interactions online and in person, I realize the woeful education many have of our founding. This book will give the patriot the knowledge to counter the forces which attack our country's continued prosperity and liberty. It is my hope that my words can once again help to stir the feelings of unity and liberty amongst the people. The truth about the principles of our founding and what we have accomplished in so short of time is a miracle story. It is time that this story be told truthfully once again. When our founding documents are understood by more people I believe we will see a resurgence of freedom in this country. When more people take an interest in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution the woes of this country will again be rightfully identified, attacked and eliminated. When people realize that the power is with us, that our government is indeed one of the people, by the people and for the people, we can again move toward prosperity and freedom. It is that or we depend on an oligarchy to rule us and we lose the greatest nation ever to grace the face of the earth. We have been given the greatest gift that our ancestors could bequeath- Liberty. We owe it to future generations to pass that gift on to them. The fate of many billions to follow depend on us. Liberty or slavery. Prosperity or poverty. The choice is ours.

This book is meant as a tool to build the foundation of understanding for our founding principles. In Chapter 2 I give an overview of both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I discuss their origins, creation, overall meanings and some facts about the documents which is important to know. In Chapter 3 I discuss the Constitution in detail. Each Article and Section is examined. Article 1 Section 8 is the subject of Chapter 4. This section lists the enumerated powers of the Congress and deserves its own discussion. Chapter 5 deals with the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and in my opinion the most important part of the document to understand. Chapter 6 gets into the rest of the amendments, eleven to twenty-seven, with some commentary and explanation of the meaning of these changes. Chapter 7 deals with state sovereignty. This concept is crucial to understanding the proper structure of our republic and is a stumbling block for some in their defense of our country. Chapter 8 deals with some of the tactics used when attacks on the Constitution are made. Topics such as the Supremacy Clause, The Commerce Clause, The Necessary and Proper clause and Full Faith and Credit are all discussed in this chapter. In Chapter 9 I present some solutions to the problems we are facing today. The last chapter gives some links to people and organizations that are active in preserving our way of life here in the United States. I hope you enjoy and learn a thing or two along the way.